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Manga FAQs/Dictionary/ Questions

Well, they have a facts section for everythin else(anime and games), so thought that it would be a good idea to make a FAQs section on manga. Manga sometimes contains words are phrases that are different and people usually ask questions regarding manga, so here's something to help:

What is Manga?
For those of you who don't know what manga since it is sometimes confused with anime, manga is the Japanese word for comic book (or Graphic Novel, if you prefer) and is used in English to mean Japanese comic books. Manga and anime are very closely related, as artists frequently crossover, as do the characters they create. Usually the manga is created first, and if it becomes really popular then the market it deemed capable of supporting a much more costly animation based on it. Manga is first made in Japanese then translated over to English.

How the heck do you read Manga?
Manga is read in "Japanese-Format" from right to left. Some manga may have been altered to where you can read it normally. When you get a manga you'll notice that the book it kinda backwards, that's how it's supposed to be. You start at the top right panel and go from right to left.

Bishounen-means pretty boy, they can be masculine or manly, and not necessarily "effiminate" Bishounen is usually found in Shounen AI or boys love manga

CGIcredit goes to the blackmoon- Refers to Computer Generated Illustration as used in manga or anime. Macintosh computers started an explosion in the use of computer assisted illustration in manga production, and today's manga make heavy use of computers... though the results still look hand crafted. Today's anime makes wide use of computer technology, even when it is not evident. Miyazaki's Mononoke-hime (Princess Mononoke) used computer technology extensively for tracking motion, charting perspective, filling in color, and generating some limited special effects. Other contemporary anime like BLOOD: The Last Vampire rely heavily upon CGI but make no attempt to hide the results. "BLOOD" is a brilliant example of the fusing of traditional cel
animation with the digital arts.

-CHAN-A suffix used when addressing or referring to children, girls and young women. The word is not used between adults unless there is a great deal of familiarity and affection. Because of the cuteness of the term, it usually refers to a specific gender and is more often heard when referring to females, as in "Rei-chan spoke with Gendo-san."

CHARA- A short Japanese word for the English word character. The word refers to character designs in anime, manga, movies, or games. The characters are usually drawn in sketches of black and white. Many anime illustration books include a chara section.

DOUJINSHI-Doujinshi translates into same stuff, different people. These are unofficial, amateur produced manga based upon successful, well established manga or anime series. Doujin range in quality from simple black & white pamphlets having only a few pages. You'll find a lot of talented artists creating doujin, and many successful mang got started in doujin circles. Most doujinshi are parodies, or alternative takes on established titles, with some doujin venturing into explicit adult themes. Large Japanese publishing houses generally look the other way and ignore the small print runs of doujinshi publishers.

HENTAI- A Japanese slang word meaning perverted or perversion. Usually porn. In the world of manga and anime, hentai refers to the adult oriented titles that present extreme, graphic sexual imagery. A common Western stereotype concerning manga and anime is that these artforms are filled with graphic sex.

HENSHIN-To transform. Seen most often in Magical Girl manga and anime like Card Captor Sakura, and Sailormoon. A henshin sequence is when a normal character transforms into their magical alter ego.

KAWAII-The Japanese word for cute.

-KUN- Another suffix used for addressing or referring to children and teenagers, particularly males, or in an adult setting, used to address an inferior. In anime, you see this term used more and more to address females, especially ones who tend to act rather "masculine".

OTAKU- This word can have a very negative meaning depending on the context in which it is used. In Japanese society its usage is widely understood to mean someone who is an anti-social maniac. But in the International anime community the word has evolved into a slang reference meaning obsessed fan.

SAN-The formal, polite honorific one uses when talking to or about someone of equal social status. The honorific is gender neutral and used when referring to adult men or women, as in "Gendo-san and Ritsuko-san both work with computers."

MECHA- A Japanese contraction of the English word mechanical. Often used to refer to robots in manga.

-SEMPAI-An suffix used by a young person when talking to or about a benefactor or senior in a social organization. Used commonly in anime and manga when students are talking to or about their senior classmates, as in "Tamiya-sempai heads the campus motorcycle club."

SEIYUU- A professional voice actor or actress. In Japan, animation studios employ seiyuu to provide the many voices for characters. Some seiyuu have become big stars in their own right due to their voice acting abilities.

-SAMA-The very formal suffix used when talking to or about someone who is much older and wiser, or someone whom you admire to the point of near worship. The honorific is gender neutral and used when referring to men or women. Used to show great respect to an individual, as in "Miyazaki-sama is a distinguished artist."

SHOUJO-The Japanese word for girl.

SHINTO-Japan's oldest and original intrinsic religion is Shinto. In Shintoism everything in the natural world possesses it's own spirit, or kami. Shinto is based upon the worship of and coexistence with the natural world.

SENSHI-The literal translation of this word is soldier.

SHOUNEN-The Japanese word for boy.

SUPER DEFORMED-A style of drawing extremely common in anime and manga that has absolutely no equivalency in the West. Normally proportioned characters are shrunk and distorted in the super deformed style. Bodies become very small and heads become disproportionately large. Often times characters in a particular scene will be drawn in both normal and super deformed styles.

SWEAT DROP-This is a signature visual stylization used in manga and anime. Whenever a character is feeling embarrassed, perplexed, self-conscious, or just plain stupid... a large tear drop shape will appear near their face or head.

TOMODACHI-Friend

YAOI-Also known as shounenai or boy's love. Yaoi manga features romantic love between male characters. These homo-erotic titles which can sometimes be quite explicit are enjoyed by a great number of women in Japan, in fact, there are many more female readers of yaoi manga than there are male readers. There is no equivalent to shounenai in the world of Western comic books. And I can see why ^_^

Yuri- Also known as girl's love. manga features romantic love between female male characters. These homo-erotic titles which can sometimes be quite explicit.

ARIGATOU-Thanks. The use of this word denotes some familiarity with the person it is being said to. The full polite expression would be, Doumo arigatou gozaimasu (Thank you very much).

What!Comics (http://whatcomics.com/default.cfm not trying to advertise, but still, it's a useful link, don't hurt me. x_x) is another manga store that has manga like the rest of Pokemon Special, Saiyuki Reload, and many others. Including those that dude from Singapore translated (can't remember the name).

-SENSEI - A suffix used to refer to certain professionals such as teachers, doctors, and (for some unknown reason) manga-ka. Can also be used alone (without the person's name) when addressing any of the above.

San-You give this title as a common show of respect, kinda like a MRs, or Mr

Chan- You give this title to younger person or a girl's name

Dono- Teacher

Kun- At the end of a boys name

When there is no word, just the acutal name it means the two people are of a close relation, (I.E. family, friends)

Sempai- Your senior
---------

Manga-Comic, the japanese don't use the word manga is spoken language they just say "comics"

Doujinshi- Fan manga, usally a parody or origenal work. Most times a doujinshika will join a group or "club" of other doujinshika. These can offer support with money, supplies and printing. Often times at conventions many clubs set up booths offering doujinshi from all of their members.

Tokusatsu- A henshin like show where the heros often tranforms, but into a monster of some sort, or a uniform other then a costume as in the Sentai shows.

Yaoi - It's not just that most of the readers are female; yaoi is a genre written by women for women.
And there is a Western equivalent - 'slash' has been around for decades, even if it's usually in literary form rather than visual. Even the acronym "yaoi" itself - yami nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi (no climax, no point, no meaning) - has a close equivalent in Western fanfiction, the term PWP (for Plot? What plot?).

Bishounen definitely aren't "usually found in Shounen AI or boys love manga" either. It's a very general term used across all genres of manga, anime, and even video games and other mediums. When Hideo Kojima was working on Metal Gear Solid 2, he specifically told Shinkawa to design Raiden as a 'bishounen'.

Yaoi - It's not just that most of the readers are female; yaoi is a genre written by women for women.
And there is a Western equivalent - 'slash' has been around for decades, even if it's usually in literary form rather than visual. Even the acronym "yaoi" itself - yami nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi (no climax, no point, no meaning) - has a close equivalent in Western fanfiction, the term PWP (for Plot? What plot?).

Eh, that Japanese phrase is not about the plot, it's about . . . well, you know. One of the lines can be translated as "no result" too.

Oh, and "Dono" doesn't really mean teacher, as someone said eariler. "Sensei" is teacher. "Dono" is closer to lord or lady.

This glossary lists important terms relating to manga and the manga industry.
It was compiled as a bare-minimum reference for Usenet, intended to resolve a
large number of questions and repetitive discussions. While it is not by any
means an exhaustive reference, those subjects most often discussed on the net
are dealt with in reasonable detail.

Entries are listed in alphabetical order, and JIS code is given for most
Sino-Japanese words. The glossary can be read sequentially, or browsed
randomly; if you can't find a specific term, try the index, listed at the end.
Many entries provide background information and pointers to other sources.

Some good general net references for those interested in manga terminology:

* Jim Breen's Japanese page lists many links to electronic Japanese-language
resources. Jim Breen is the compiler of the on-line Japanese-English
dictionary EDICT and the kanji dictionary KANJIDIC, both of which are
comprehensive, useful, and in the public domain.
<http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/cgi-bin/jdic>
* The sci.lang Japan FAQ briefly deals with colloquial Japanese used in
manga.
<ftp://ftp.uwtc.washington.edu:/pub/Japanese/JimBreen/>
* A Guide to Japanese Culture for Role Playing Games contains several
introductory articles on subjects that are found often enough in manga:
Japanese mythology, religion, history, traditional weapons, and the
yakuza. <http://www.io.com/user/nishio/japan/>
* The Internet and Unix Dictionary is a simple reference for computing
terms, which often crop up in manga discussion on the 'net.
<http://rci.ripco.com:8080/~kadokev/answers.html>

-hime: a suffix which litteraly translates into "princess". Yet it is usually not used is such a manner, for it is usually used to compliment on a character's youth and/or beauty. (ex. Naruto: Tsunade-hime) <= it is common to be used with a character who posses an ample chest

Hi I haven't posted in here in a while but I have a question concerning Japanese manga, in particular, Weekly Shonen Jump. On what day is this released in Japan? I know it's usually once a week but on what day? And how much does it usually cost to purchase a copy, in Japan?

Hi I haven't posted in here in a while but I have a question concerning Japanese manga, in particular, Weekly Shonen Jump. On what day is this released in Japan? I know it's usually once a week but on what day? And how much does it usually cost to purchase a copy, in Japan?

This is what I found:

Q: How much does it cost?
A: The price varies from 230 to 250 yen in Japan, depending on any extra content. Beacuse it's weekly, the price may also flucuate with market conditions. As of 2008, the average price of an issue is 240yen, including Japan's 5% tax.

Q: When is it released in Japan?
A: It is released every Monday in the Japanese market.